|
December 23, 2005 |
Payload: AMC-23 communications satellite Spacebus 4000 platform Separated spacecraft mass: Approx. 10,981 lbs (4,981 kg) Launch Vehicle: Proton M/Breeze M Launch Date: Dec. 29, 2005 (Baikonur, GMT) Launch Window Opens: 8:28 a.m. Baikonur Launch Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan Launch Customer: SES AMERICOM, Princeton, N.J. Part of SES GLOBAL family of companies Satellite Manufacturer: Alcatel Alenia Space Launch Vehicle Manufacturer: Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, Moscow Launch Services Provider: International Launch Services (ILS), McLean, Va. Satellite Use: AMC-23 is a high-power hybrid C/Ku-band satellite that will serve local, transcontinental and transoceanic customers throughout the Pacific Region, including North America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the islands of the South Pacific. Satellite Statistics: Mission Profile: The Proton launch vehicle will inject the satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, using a five-burn Breeze M mission design. The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent trajectory to place the Breeze M fourth stage, with the satellite, into a suborbital trajectory, from which the Breeze M will place itself and the spacecraft into a support or reference orbit of 173 km (107 miles), inclined at 51.5 degrees. Then the satellite will be propelled to its transfer orbit by additional burns of the Breeze M. Following separation from the Breeze M, the spacecraft will perform a series of liquid apogee engine burns to raise perigee, lower inclination and circularize the orbit at the geostationary altitude of 36,000 km (22,300 miles). Target Orbit at Separation: Spacecraft Separation: Approximately 9 hours, 20 minutes after liftoff ILS Mission Statistics: NEWS MEDIA ACTIVITIES Live Broadcast in U.S.: AMC-4, transponder 17 C-band, 101 degrees West, downlink 4040 MHz (vertical), analog. Test signals start at 8:15 pm EST. In Europe, Russia & Kazakhstan: New Skies NSS-7, transponder NAH1/EUH9, Channel 1, Ku-band; 338 degrees East; bandwidth 9 MHz; FEC 3/4; downlink 12509.5 MHz (horizontal); symbol rate 6.1113. Test signals start at 01:15 GMT. More Information: Webcast and general mission information are available on the ILS web site at www.ilslaunch.com. Launch status updates are available on the ILS U.S. domestic Launch Hotline at 1-800-852-4980. |